remove each existing
destination file before attempting to open it (contrast with−−force)

−−sparse=WHEN

control creation of sparse
files. See below

−−strip−trailing−slashes

remove any trailing slashes
from each SOURCE argument

−s,−−symbolic−link

make symbolic links instead of
copying

−S,−−suffix=SUFFIX

override the usual backup
suffix

−t,−−target−directory=DIRECTORY

copy all SOURCE arguments into
DIRECTORY

−T,−−no−target−directory

treat DEST as a normal file

−u,−−update

copy only when the SOURCE file
is newer than the destination file or when the destination
file is missing

−v,−−verbose

explain what is being done

−x,−−one−file−system

stay on this file system

−Z

set SELinux security context of destination file to
default type

−−context[=CTX]

like −Z, or if CTX
is specified then set the SELinux or SMACK security context
to CTX

−−help

display this help and exit

−−version

output version information and
exit

By default,
sparse SOURCE files are detected by a crude heuristic and
the corresponding DEST file is made sparse as well. That is
the behavior selected by−−sparse=auto. Specify−−sparse=always to create a sparse
DEST file whenever the SOURCE file contains a long enough
sequence of zero bytes. Use−−sparse=never to inhibit creation
of sparse files.

When−−reflink[=always] is specified,
perform a lightweight copy, where the data blocks are copied
only when modified. If this is not possible the copy fails,
or if −−reflink=auto is specified,
fall back to a standard copy.

The backup
suffix is ’~’, unless set with−−suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX. The
version control method may be selected via the−−backup option or through the
VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values:

none, off

never make backups (even if−−backup is given)

numbered, t

make numbered backups

existing, nil

numbered if numbered backups
exist, simple otherwise

simple, never

always make simple backups

As a special
case, cp makes a backup of SOURCE when the force and backup
options are given and SOURCE and DEST are the same name for
an existing, regular file.